RESOURCES
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Below are links to a few of the many organizations that are restoring bison herds, documentaries about bison revitalization efforts, and books and articles about the importance of bison to the ecosystem.
Southern Plains Land Trust
Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lipan Apache, Osage, and Ute Territory / Lamar, CO
"The Southern Plains Land Trust is to protect and restore the Southern Plains. purchases land for prairie wildlife.
So far, we’ve protected over 60,000 acres in our preserve network, providing urgently needed refuge to a wide variety of native grassland animals and plants." They also have education, community outreach, and research programs.
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Texas Tribal Buffalo Project
Lipan Apache Territory / Waelder, TX
“As Lipan Apache descendent, mother, sister, and nature loving woman, I have a vision to culturally revive and RECONNECT the relationship between Texas Tribes. Through our regenerative buffalo herd, data & food sovereignty initiatives, DNA project, community events, and programs; we would like to leave our descendants & descendants of all Texas Tribes, a legacy of health and happiness, now and for the future.” Lucille Contreras, CEO and Founder of Texas Tribal Buffalo Project.
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​​​​​Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
Wind River Reservation / Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho Territory / Wyoming
Founded in 2022 by Eastern Shoshone tribal member Jason Baldes. "We are on a mission to restore conservation Buffalo through land rematriation, community revitalization, and youth education. Our vision is thousands of Buffalo on tens of thousands of acres, protected under Tribal law as wildlife."
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*all projects shared with express permission​
American Prairie: Restoring bison to northern Montana with a patchwork nature reserve
60 Minutes, 2023, 13:16
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"In one of the most remote parts of the country, a nonprofit is working to create the largest nature reserve in the contiguous United States with hopes of restoring several species of wildlife." Founded in 2001, the foundation has created reserve currently covering 527,068 acres in central Montana and has set an initial goal of restoring 5,000 buffalo to the land.​​​​​​
​​​​​​Boy-zshan Bi-den (Buffalo Return)
Colin Ruggiero, 2017, 8:48
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"​Bison were nearly exterminated across North America. Thanks to the Shoshone tribe, the National Wildlife Federation and the coordinated efforts of a host of other individuals and organizations, bison have finally been brought back the Wind River Indian Reservation and a landscape that they once defined.
For more information, please visit: www.nwf.org/tribalbison​​​​​"
Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya
Well Beings, 2024, 18:52
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"Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya is an intimate documentary about the only indigenous tribal-led buffalo drive in North America. It tells the story of a small group of Blackfoot people in Northern Montana and their mission to establish the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory since the species’ near-extinction a century ago, an act that would restore the land, re-enliven traditional culture and bring much needed healing to their community. Narrated by Academy Award-nominated Blackfeet / Nez Perce actor, Lily Gladstone."
ARTICLES & BOOKS
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The Ecological Buffalo: On the Trail of a Keystone Species
Wes Olson and Johane Janelle, University of Regina Press, 2023
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An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs.
With the arrival of Europeans and their rapacious capacity for wildlife destruction, the buffalo was all but exterminated. In a span of just thirty years during the mid-1800s, buffalo populations plummeted from more than 30 million to just twenty-three. And with them went all of the intricate food webs, the trophic cascades, and the inter-species relationships that had evolved over thousands of years.
Despite this brush with extinction, the buffalo survived, and isolated populations are slowly recovering. ..the relationships the animals once had with thousands of species are being re-established in a remarkable process of ecological healing. The intricacy of those restored relationships is the subject of this book.
Based on author Wes Olson’s thirty-five years of working intimately with bison—and featuring 180 stunning, full-colour photographs by Johane Janelle—The Ecological Buffalo is a story that takes the reader on a journey to understand the myriad connections this keystone species has with the Great Plains.
Re-Bisonizing the West: Restoring an American Icon to the Landscape
Kurt Repanshek, Torrey House Press, 2019
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Kurt Repanshek traces the history of bison from their near extinction to present-day efforts to bring them back to the landscape--and the biological, political, and cultural hurdles confronting these efforts. Repanshek explores Native Americans' relationships with bison and presents a forward-thinking approach to returning bison to the West and improving the health of ecosystems.
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